The latest complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman as a proportion of services in operation, for service providers who participate in the report, increased to 7.5 complaints per 10,000 services for the period January-March 2019, but remained the lowest rate for the January-March quarter since 2016.

“The January to March quarter typically sees a seasonal higher level of complaints following the Christmas period, and we are glad to see that the level of complaints this year remains lower than in the two preceding years,” Communications Alliance chief executive John Stanton said.

“Some of our members have reported that the latest result has been influenced by adverse weather events and natural disasters. Nonetheless, we acknowledge there is more work to be done by all players in the supply chain to ensure a positive experience for Australian telecommunications consumers, including during transition from one network to another.”

Stanton said the proposed upcoming registration of a revised and strengthened Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code by the industry regulator would provide “additional consumer protections and an expanded Complaints in Context report, driving continued improvements through the co-regulatory system”.

Complaints in Context is a quarterly report published by Communications Alliance with complaints data provided by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.